US Must Prolong the Presence of It Troops in Afghanistan - Coursework Example

US must prolong the presence of it troops in Afghanistan Introduction Afghanistan, a nation that has experienced a great deal of security challenges, being a country widely recognized as one of the safe havens for global criminals and religious fundamentalists. Alongside other nations like Pakistan, criminal groups like the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and their adherents have always found their hideouts in this country. This has always strained its international relations with other countries especially the western nations, for instance, the United States of America. In a bid to smoke out criminals from their hideouts and safe havens, and especially due to failure by their governments to extradite them, United States of America invaded the country in 2001. The action taken by US was long overdue especially to smoke out terrorists, and such, America should not pull out her troops from Afghanistan. There are a number of reasons and recent developments within and outside Afghanistan, which warrant this position. In the recent national elections held in Afghanistan, the citizens had to brave the rains, muddy streets and most important, the high chances of militia attacks who had vowed to leave no stone unturned in their bid to disrupt the elections. After several years of a chaotic nation, with no legitimate government and proper systems, a chance to make things better presented itself through electoral elections. However, the militia still had the militia still had the guts to issue threats in order to scare people from participating in the voting. This proves the power they had to disrupt the elections, and if not for the presence of the US soldiers, they would have achieved their goal. In fact, the voting day did not pass without incidents. The day was marked by sporadic violence, for instance, in a school packed with voters in the district of Logar province; a bomb went off seriously wounding two men, according to report by Din Mohammad Darwesh, the then government spokesperson. In other incidents, rocket attacks and fierce gun battles forced the closure of 959 polling stations. Reports indicate that voter excitement seemed to have overcome all these threats of violence culminating into the success of the electoral process. The events among many others that continue to take place must be put to a halt so as not to return the country back to the dark days. The new government, however, cannot assert authority on its own to deal with the militia. As a result, to assist the young government stamps its full authority, the United States must not withdraw its troops. Despite what the analysts and the international community hail as a success in the elections, statistics show that the majority of the voters in the country voted along the ethnic lines without much due consideration for the much needed spirit of national unity in a country wreathed in armed strife and reprisals. “…many had hoped that the country was moving into a new era marked by its first democratic handover of power. Similarly, early returns in Kabul pointed out to the enduring power of ethnic politics” (Risen & James, 2008, p.6). This reveals the widespread negative ethnicity that has created a fertile environment for criminal groups and militia to thrive. Therefore, to guard against such eventualities and particularly in a nation trying to wake up to the realities of democracy like Afghanistan, it is my strong position that the United States must not withdraw he troops from the country, at least not yet. In addition, and concerning the relative strength and endurance of the Taliban, the group has proved rejuvenate even after major blows by international security operations to neutralize them completely. Several NATO led ground operations, and massive air strikes have no doubt given the group major blows, but in some way somehow, the militia undergoes a silent period of reassessment and reorganization and comes out again stronger and equipped for destruction. Nevertheless, the NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen acknowledges that the attacks by the Taliban have been consistently sporadic, but he welcomes and commends the manner in which the Afghans have resisted the intimidation attempts (9/11 Commission, 2004). From the attack of the Afghan electoral commission headquarters to a series of cases of holding Afghans and foreigners hostages, not to mention suicide bombings. If they citizens are to continue with this optimism, they require assistance of U.S troops to constantly help them where they are short, and give them encouragement and motivation to keep on seeking for peace. Moreover, the Taliban had continued to assassinate government officials systematically to weaken Ahmed Karzai’s regime. Actually, there is no guarantee that these attacks will cease any soon. It is also an indication, therefore, that the militia is a real force out to cause mayhem and frustrate the government. The young government in a fledgling democracy may not just be able to contain the militia with ease. This calls for the America continued stay in Afghanistan to assist in dealing with this criminal group. Notably, another key concern is the relevance of Afghanistan to Pakistan and the relevance of Pakistan to US international and regional interests. Key among the American interests lies in Pakistan too. In fact, as put by Woodward (2011), “America would not be anywhere around Pakistan if it were not for its geostrategy as related to the world’s energy lifelines nearby and if Pakistan was not the prime land to build front line bases to deter the adversaries from the West” (p.9). It is worth noting that there are indeed very subtle and intricate constellation of interests as concerns the two countries, that is, United States and the Pakistan. For the eventual neutralization of Taliban, the US seriously requires input from Pakistan. This is because Pakistan has been a safe haven and a fertile ground for the flourishing Taliban. In fact, the top leadership of the three Taliban factions lives in Pakistan, and intelligence reports indicate that, at times, they travel freely on the Pakistan passport. For the economic interests in Afghanistan, Pakistan sees the Taliban as being the engine to stop the entry of India in the region for economic gains. Another interesting dimension of it is that there is the shared distrust between the US and Pakistan. This has raised issues that US at times hold secret meetings aimed at negotiating agreements with the Taliban leaders (AEI, 2008). Such leaders have been reported to take place in Doha, Qatar, behind Pakistan’s back. Such negotiations have attained some levels of agreements such as the establishment of the Taliban political offices in such places as Qatar, for ceding grounds to a number of US demands. On the other hand, “… intelligence reports indicate that the ISI leadership at times sits in high profile meetings in the various councils of the Taliban” (Stewart 2004). With this intricate web of conflicting interests and involving nations that seriously need each one’s cooperation, it is never clear how the interest will drive each party. These reasons seriously warrant the continued American stay in Afghanistan, to contain the Taliban and eventually neutralize them. Furthermore, on the concern for the relevance and the relations between US and Pakistan, the war on Al-Qaeda has been a point of cooperation between the two nations. Since the declaration of war on the criminal sect by the US, Pakistan had joined the war to rid herself and Afghanistan of the extremist group. In fact, Pakistan has been launching successful attacks on the Al-Qaeda operatives and their local adherents leading to their extermination. In the operation to eliminate members of the Al-Qaeda sect, there, however, appears to be problems between the two nations. This arose, as a result, of the employment of drones to hit out at the Al- Qaeda operatives in Pakistan and elsewhere in Afghanistan. The idea of the drones had never been popular with the Pakistanis because of the innocent civilians who suffer as collateral damages during the attacks. US, on the other hand, persist with the drone operations. Another complexity arises because the Taliban themselves have close connections with the Al-Qaeda, thereby spinning a complex matrix for the Pakistan on how to approach the whole fight against terrorism (Auerswald, 2013). Again, due to the clear complexities concerning the relations of the three nations; Pakistan, United States of America and Afghanistan, and the urgent need to neutralize the Taliban and its operatives in Afghanistan, things are never definite on how the relations would turn out. This calls for a decision by the US to prolong the stay of her troops in Afghanistan to manage the security situations and support the young government. The final issue that strains the relations between the US and Pakistan is financial aid to Pakistan. With some sections of the aid coming as compensation for the Al-Qaeda fight, and some as economic aid, Pakistan has always lamented that the funds are seriously delayed with huge chunks stuck within the pipeline. “There are also the claims by the Pakistanis that the funds upon hitting the ground, end up in the coffers of foreign contractors who then repatriate the funds back to their country” (Girardet, 2011, p.4). This does not benefit or change the life of a local Pakistanis. In turn, the Pakistanis argue that United States simply uses the aid to coerce Pakistan to fight the American war. However, I believe that Pakistan must contribute to fighting the war in Afghanistan to bring peace. As it stands, no country is in a better position to influence Pakistanis into doing this that the US and its troops. The next concern is the relevance of Al-Qaeda in the war in Afghanistan. As much as the sect has been considerably liquidated through joint international war on terrorism, with the culmination of the killing of the most sought after global criminal, Osama Bin, they remain powerful and deadly. Moreover, Al-Qaeda is a global menace and despite the occasional killing of its top leadership, its operatives remain scattered globally under the umbrellas of smaller criminal groups of an extremist nature (Coll, 2004). Additionally, there are other self-declared criminal groups in many countries and regions, which subscribe to the ideals of the Al-Qaeda. Such extremist groups include the Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Al Shabaab in East Africa. This asserts that the Al-Qaeda and its network are real, alive, widespread, and as strong as ever. For this reason, decisive action must be taken by the US to see the war on Taliban through to its successful conclusion. Afghanistan serves as the root operational grounds for these groups; hence, by staying in Afghanistan, the US troops have a good chance of rooting out the brains behind these extremist and terrorist activities all over the world. Concerning the stamina by the United Sates to endure its presence in Afghanistan, it is commendable. Additionally, the US has what it takes to stay in Pakistan for longer. Ranging from the economic power to the military might, US so far are on the upper scale as concerns the prowess to contain the Taliban in Afghanistan. As explained by Stewart (2004), “…the events in Pakistan have become so dangerous because of the drones strikes and the ability to locate and take out many Al-Qaeda members from their hideouts…..this is indeed indicative of the American capability to handle the Taliban, given its military muscle” (p.46). Recent history of the great powers in the Afghanistan also tells why America is good to continue its presence in Afghanistan. A case example is the Soviet Union’s occupation of the Afghanistan in 1978, which bore no intended fruits and faced many resistances from the Afghans. This is because of the widespread dislike for the foreigners by the Afghans then. However, America was able to overcome this challenge skillfully with much success. Furthermore, some of the sentiments from the local citizens of Afghanistan indicate their support for the invasion. According to Girardet (2011), “…some of the sentiments suggest that America found a way of democratizing Afghanistan, but the past assumptions of the Afghanis had antagonized and disillusioned the very people they intended to help.” This sentiment is quite informing about the transformations that have come to Afghanistan since the time America stepped into the country. Also, during the recent rather peaceful and successful elections, a number of the Afghanistan electorates, through the media interviews, hailed the United States of America for enabling the nation to prepare and conducted the first ever democratic electoral process and peaceful handing over of power (Coll, 2010). The American occupation of the Afghanistan to root out the Taliban is indeed timely. This mission is not yet seen through to its successful conclusion. It is my strong position that the US prolongs the stay of her troops in Afghanistan. Extremists and other criminal groups continue to terrorize, and kill innocent individuals. Presence of US troops in Afghanistan is the only chance to root out these criminals and end this madness, as Afghanistan is their breeding ground and safe haven for their leaders. References AEI (2008). America and the War on Terror" AEI Public Opinion Study.  Auerswald, D.P. & Stephen M. S., (2013) NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone: Princeton U.P Coll, S., (2010). Danger Close. Texas A&M University Press. Coll, S., (2004) Ghost Wars: The Secret History of CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden. Penguin. 911 Commission (20 September 2004). "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States". Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.  Girardet, E. (2011) Killing the Cranes: A Reporter’s Journey Trough Three Decades of War in Afghanistan.Chealsea Green Publishing. Risen & James (2008). State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration. Simon & Schuster UK. Stewart, R.W. (2004). Operation Enduring Freedom. BG John S. Brown. United States Army. p. 46 Woodward, B. (2010). Obamas Wars. Simon & Schuster. Read More